From Keywords to Conversations: How AEO Is Reshaping the Future of SEO

Nowadays, many web designers and business owners who use websites as marketing tools, talk about SEO and AEO. Because Search Engine Optimisation has been used for many years already most business owners know what it entails. Answer Engine Optimisation (AEO), however, is a more recent concept and people are not always sure what the differences between the two concepts are. Leading web designers foresee that Search Engine Optimisation will always have a purpose but that Answer Engine Optimisation will reshape searching in the future.

SEO vs AEO

SEO

This is an important aspect of a professionally created website. It can briefly be described as a keyword-driven system which web designers use to develop sites in such a manner that they rank high on Google and other search lists.

In other words, it only provides web addresses of sites with relevant information. Users then find information on each of the listed websites. Usually, users only visit the top few sites because they are listed as the best online sources available. The result doesn’t answer the user’s query but only directs the user to online sources where answers can be found.

AEO

Answer Engine Optimisation is a relatively new AI concept where search results not only provide lists but also uses AI tools to provide the user with an answer. When a site is developed according to AEO requirements the content has to be structured so that it can be retrieved immediately and used in the feedback to the user. Within this strategy, businesses optimise the content of their websites to be included in AI-generated responses.

Reshaping the future

This new AI-based system is taking away the focus on keywords and concentrating on an approach of understanding questions. AI tools make it possible to provide new types of responses to internet searches. Users can still visit the websites provided by the SEO process, but can also use the AI-powered summaries. Web designers have to structure webpages in a way that can provide keywords for Search Engine Optimisation, but can also easily be understood by AI-driven engines.

Apart from taking the focus away from keywords, the AEO reshaping of the future of SEO also includes the following:

• Content writers have to understand that it is easier for AI to understand questions and generate answers if the content is written with appropriate bullet points and tables.
• The web content must not only answer questions but also explain the topic in more detail and put it in context.
• The content writer must write in a conversational tone. To be more human-like, the content writer has to use natural language without technical jargon. The information must be accessible for a wide audience.

For more information about the reshaping process, any Search Engine Optimisation company in Sydney will assist.

Conclusion

AEO will not necessarily replace current systems, but to stay a role player in the transition from keywords to conversations tools and content must be reshaped to include new requirements.